Everyone who drives a gasoline or diesel powered vehicle on the streets in the United States pays taxes that go towards keeping the roads around the country and within your local community in good condition. We pay these taxes at the pump when we buy fuel.

However, one of the side effects to the Obama administration's push to get Americans to buy more fuel-efficient electric or hybrid vehicles is that the amount of money raised in fuel taxes by states is decreasing. The Oregon state legislature is reportedly considering a bill that would require drivers of vehicles getting at least 55 mpg to pay a tax on each mile driven after 2015.

The bill would also give drivers the option of paying a flat tax amount annually. Currently, taxes on fuel within the state of Oregon are 30 cents per gallon.

“Everybody uses the road and if some pay and some don’t then that’s an unfair situation that’s got to be resolved,” said Jim Whitty, manager of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Office of Innovative Partnerships and Alternative Funding.

Oregon isn't the only state considering charging drivers of fuel-efficient vehicles attacks on the miles they drive; Nevada and Washington are also looking at per mile charges. Drivers of electric vehicles in Washington will begin paying an annual fee in March.

Automotive manufacturers and dealers see this proposed per mile tax as a significant hindrance to the mass adoption of hybrid and fully-electric vehicles.

A SMART car weight is 1600lbs. A TOYOTA Forerunner weight is 4800lbs. a CADILLAC Escalade weight is 5800lbs. Charge a tax when you plate it, calculated by weight. Heavier vehicles cause more damage than lighter ones

This tax system is used for commercial vehicles, might as well extend it down to lighter ones also. But if everyone goes to the light vehicles to save money, then you again have the same problem. You may do less damage with lighter vehicles but all roads need to be replaced at some time even when used lightly.

The cost isn't road maintenance per se. If that were the case, almost the entirety of the tax should be borne by commercial trucks. Cars simply aren't heavy enough to damage most roads, so nearly all the wear and tear comes from trucks. That's why the two rightmost lanes on 3+ lane highways are so worse off. Trucks are prohibited from all but the two rightmost lanes. And despite those lanes being reinforced they wear out much more quickly than the left lanes. (This is also the reason you're not supposed to drive on shoulders - they aren't designed to withstand frequent traffic.)

The cost is having to expand the roads and highways to handle more traffic. So it's relatively agnostic to vehicle type. The Prius takes up nearly as much space in a traffic lane (including safe space in front and back) as a Suburban.

To be more specific, the amount of road damage caused by a vehicle is roughly proportional to the CUBE of the axle weight times the number of axles. That means a single 80,000 pound semi causes as much wear as an entire fleet of cars.